FORT WORTH, Tex.–How do we know that Danica Patrick is “the fastest girl in town?”
Her belt buckle says so.
Fresh from an outstanding 12th-place run last Sunday at Martinsville, Patrick took questions from reporters behind her transporter Friday morning at Texas Motor Speedway. It was impossible not to notice the “bling” on her belt.
A massive buckle sported rhinestones and the numbers 10 and 7, which Patrick ran in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, respectively, last year. The buckle was a gift from boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr., based on an agreement the drivers made as their friendship blossomed last year at Daytona.
“This started at the beginning of last year when I said that… he (Stenhouse) wanted some Twitter followers,” Patrick explained. “So I was like ‘Well, if I help you with that, can I have a belt buckle?’ So that started at Daytona and so, anyway, he had it made. I got it just before the second Texas race last year (in November).
“I wore it last year at the end of the year. It was very nice. I know these things they are handmade. They are not cheap and it’s really cool to have. It says ‘fastest girl in town.’ That was a nice gift. He didn’t actually need to live up to that bet, but it was nice that he did.”
Perhaps Stenhouse, however, should demand more for his part of the bargain. As of Saturday, Patrick had more than 886,000 Twitter followers. Though the drivers acknowledged their romantic relationship in February, the number of Stenhouse’s Twitter followers is lagging behind at slightly more than 88,000.
Of course, Patrick’s promise was for 10,000 followers, and she delivered.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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